Paul Pasqualoni Talks UConn Football At Chamber Breakfast

CROMWELL – UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni's voice was hoarse but the show had to go on.

Pasqualoni, the guest speaker at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce of breakfast Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza, touched on a number of topics before a wall-to-wall crowd. He addressed the issue of greatness, the health of some of his injured players, his expectations on the season and not who the starting quarterback would be but who would be the No.2.

He made a joke to get things going.

"I'm happy to be here," Pasqualoni said. "I'm happy to be anywhere after two 5-7 seasons."

Laughter followed but Pasqualoni is correct, and he knows how critical this season is for him, his staff and the UConn program.

The Huskies have a daunting schedule that features Michigan, the winningest program in the history of college football (903), visiting Rentschler Field on Sept. 21.

"The problem with this game is that greatness doesn't happen overnight," Pasqualoni said. "That's the problem and it's no different than anywhere else in life. For 99 percent of the population it doesn't happen overnight. We've just got to keep working and working hard."

Pasqualoni also touched on a good topic for him – state players:

"UConn is to me, like it is in so many areas, the best, and to do it with the guys, the coaches, from the state of Connecticut, I promise you, is our commitment," Pasqualoni said. "These young guys we're signing and bringing to UConn, I've been in this business a long time, I promise you these guys are going to be good players. They're great kids with character, their families are tremendous."

Pasqualoni talked about the concussion sophomore tight end Sean McQuillan sustained Saturday. He said McQuillan was fine but that there was no timetable for his return.

"He's back and he's around so we're optimistic," the coach said later. "You have to go through the whole procedure and protocol thing but we're optimistic he'll be OK."

The verdict is still out on the shoulder injury starting safety Andrew Adams sustained in the same practice.

"We're getting the evaluation on how long that's going to be. I'm not sure," Pasqualoni said. "There are two different scenarios. I don't know which one it is yet. They have to wait and see the swelling go down and take a look at what they've got to do."

Pasqualoni said freshman linebacker Junior Joseph (knee) could be back by the start of the season and that senior tackle Kevin Friend, who missed practice Saturday as well, is fine.

Pasqualoni was asked about the competition for No. 2 quarterback between Casey Cochran, a redshirt freshman from Masuk-Monroe, true freshman Tim Boyle from Xavier-Middletown and true freshman Kivon Taylor.

"Casey Cochran, mentally right now, is a little bit ahead. Timmy Boyle is working in there. Kivon Taylor from Grady High school down in Atlanta is working in," he said.

Lagow Leaving

Freshman quarterback Richard Lagow tweeted Tuesday that he is leaving the program.

"Blessed to be given opportunity thank you fans and coaches. I will be looking into other opportunities. god bless."

A UConn source confirmed Tuesday night that Lagow was leaving.

Lagow, from Plano, Texas, pointed to the logjam at the position as his primary reason for looking elsewhere. He was one of three true freshman quarterbacks on the roster. Earlier in the day, Pasqualoni, mentioned Lagow was still in competition with the other freshmen.

Lagow tweeted: "My position on the football field is adequately stocked and I know that I can leave and not feel I have let the team down."

Chandler Whitmer, the returning starter, is a junior. Cochran is a redshirt freshman and Boyle and Taylor are the other freshmen. ... Pasqualoni on redshirt freshman free safety Obi Melifonwu, who has moved into Adams' spot: "He's about 6-4, runs about a 4.5, vertical jumps about 41 inches. I don't know if I've been around a better athlete than Obi. He's just got to grow up a little bit more and gain a little bit more experience."… Pasqualoni said he liked junior receiver Shakim Phillips as a kickoff returner and freshman receiver Brian Lemelle on punt returns. … Fullback Joe Williams, who was charged with credit card theft, illegal use of credit card and larceny Aug. 12, had his case continued to Sept. 10 at Superior Court in Rockville. ... The Huskies break camp Friday and begin preparations Saturday for the season-opener against Towson Aug. 29.